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The Uppsala internationalization process model revisited: From liability of foreignness to liability of outsidership

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Abstract

The Uppsala internationalization process model is revisited in the light of changes in business practices and theoretical advances that have been made since 1977. Now the business environment is viewed as a web of relationships, a network, rather than as a neoclassical market with many independent suppliers and customers. Outsidership, in relation to the relevant network, more than psychic distance, is the root of uncertainty. The change mechanisms in the revised model are essentially the same as those in the original version, although we add trust-building and knowledge creation, the latter to recognize the fact that new knowledge is developed in relationships.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank numerous colleagues, students, and authors of IB articles who through the years have contributed views and remarks, critical and encouraging. We also thank the editor, Alain Verbeke, and three anonymous reviewers who helped put this paper in a much better shape. We express gratitude to the Torsten and Ragnar Söderberg Foundations for financial assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

    Jan Johanson

  2. Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Jan-Erik Vahlne

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  1. Jan Johanson
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  2. Jan-Erik Vahlne
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Correspondence to Jan Johanson.

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Accepted by Alain Verbeke, Area Editor, 4 November 2008. This paper has been with the authors for four revisions.

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Johanson, J., Vahlne, JE. The Uppsala internationalization process model revisited: From liability of foreignness to liability of outsidership. J Int Bus Stud 40, 1411–1431 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1057/jibs.2009.24

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